John Garrett "All Pro Anglers Tell Lies" on MERCER-204

John Garrett is one of the brightest young stars in pro fishing. Not only is he a former College Bass Champion but he won an Elite Series title in only his 3rd event and finished his rookie season with a top 10 in Angler of the Year. Rookie luck? Not likely. This week he will compete in his second Bassmaster Classic and will do so as the current leader in Bassmaster Angler of the Year points. But first he stops by the podcast to talk about leading AOY, seeing a UFO, interrupting a drug deal and the fact that all pro anglers lie a little.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
It is Bassmaster Classic Week and we have a two time
Bassmaster Classic qualifier, a former collegiate Bassmaster
champion, a former Elite Series champion, the current leader in
progressive Bassmaster Angler ofthe Year points from Union City,
TN John Garrett joins me this week on.

(00:28):
I'm Bob Cobb for the Bassmaster.Welcome to Mercer.
Welcome one. Welcome all, friends, family,
freeloaders, fishing freaks, andof course you, my humpers.
Happy hump day to all of you andwelcome into the Awkwardly
Honest Fishing podcast that goesby my last name, which is
Mercer. This is the 204th edition of the

(00:49):
Mercer Podcast and I hope wherever you are in the world,
I've whether you're watching this or listening to this, that
life is treating you well. It is a wonderful time of year.
It is a special, special week. That's right, it is classic week
and one of my favorite weeks of the entire year.
Call it what you want, the SuperBowl of bass fishing, the

(01:10):
Catalina wine mixer of bass fishing, the greatest spectacle
in all of sport fishing. It is all that wrapped up into a
ball and it's here and it is in Fort Worth, TX.
I hope to see a bunch of you there.
Reports are we're going to see some giant, giant fish and will
we see a new three day classic weight record?

(01:31):
Maybe. I think we're going to see some
exciting stuff for it's been a while since there's been a
classic with the potential to have as many big fish as we're
going to see here this week on Lake Ray Roberts.
So yeah, that's going to be fun.And it would have been an easy
week for me to be like, you knowwhat, I'm at the classic, I'm

(01:51):
busy. There's a lot going on.
We're not going to have a podcast, but you know, I'm not
going to do that to you guys. We definitely have a podcast,
and not only do we have a podcast, but we have it with the
current leader and progressive bass master Angler of the year
points. He talks about a lot of things.
He talks about his young career in the Elite series.

(02:12):
He talks about UFOs. He talks about walking in the
middle of a drug bust. He talks about a lot of strange
things. But hopefully he doesn't screw
up our pattern because if you remember, the last guest we had
before last year's Bass Master Classic was Justin Hamner, and
now we're having John Garrett. So will he win the Bass Master

(02:32):
Classic? There's only, you know, 50-4
other people that have somethingto say about that.
The Classic is always the toughest one to predict because
it really is. It's just a wild, wild
tournament. Speaking of wild things, before
we get into this podcast, got toremind everybody Officially
Unofficial came out this week, the 3rd edition of Officially

(02:53):
Unofficial and this one gets a little spicy.
We talked about what is probablythe spiciest, if not the
spiciest, the hottest topic in pro fishing right now and that
is the no information rule. You have heard a lot of people's
opinions online. I got 4 anglers and four
incredible anglers. We have Gerald Swindle, Jeff
Gustafson, Seth Fighter and GregHackney and I get their opinion

(03:18):
on the no information rule, good, bad or ugly.
So make sure you check that out.It is on bassmaster.com.
I will put the links down below in the comments and in the
description. Make sure to check that out
because if you like this podcast, there's a good chance
you will like that podcast. At least I'm hoping.

(03:39):
I'm also hoping to run into a bunch of you in Fort Worth and I
am generally heard a lot but notseen a lot of the classic
because I'm never in one area for very long.
But each day you can find me at takeoff.
I will be at takeoff each and every morning and that is at
7:30 the boats start to leave. So you can find me there.

(04:01):
If you don't find me there. And, and really how you find me
is just holler my name when you see me and I'll try to get to
you. I will also be at the Expo each
and every day. I will be in the Bassmaster
booth doing some Bass live, doing the halftime show,
different things we got going on.
That starts at 10:00 AM local time, 11:00 Eastern Time.

(04:25):
So if you're watching online, you can check that out at
11/11/30, 11:30 the first day I believe.
I believe we're 1/2 hour back onFriday, but Saturday and Sunday,
10:00 local, 11:00 Eastern Time.There will be a schedule out
there somewhere, but I'd love tomeet you guys there.
Make sure you holler at me there.
And then obviously I will be at the weigh in in the afternoon.
Hard for me to kind of break away from being on stage, but

(04:49):
holler at me because I'd love tosee you guys.
It's always great to meet humpers.
Another thing that you can watchduring the Bassmaster Classic,
many of you have watched it actually.
It really feels like this seasonit has blown up Mercer in the
morning. I run around approximately 1
hour before the official take off time.

(05:10):
So for this event, I'll be running around around 6:30 in
the morning. I'll be running around doing
Mercer in the morning. You can watch it live on
Instagram and YouTube and it's very candid.
Anglers aren't quite awake. We we kind of go in many
different directions, but check that out Mercer in the morning.
Oh, but there's more 01 thing I have to remind you guys on if

(05:32):
you are attending the bass master classic this year, there
is a rule. I I don't know if it's a Texas
rule or if it's a Fort Worth rule or what it is, but there's
a rule that everybody needs a ticket to get into the my hat
has been causing me issues. It is what there is it straight? 00:05:51,040 No, it looks off.
Whatever it is. OK, stop it.

(05:56):
If you're listening to the audiothing, this means nothing, but
my hat has been going many different directions.
I don't know if it's a Texas rule or it's a Fort Worth rule,
but everybody needs a ticket to get into weigh in.
Don't worry, it is still free ofcharge.
You need to get that ticket through Ticketmaster.
They'll be advertising all over the place.
There is a Bassmaster Classic app that I recommend that you

(06:17):
download because it's going to allow you to do kind of a light
show during the weigh in. It's also going to allow you to
give you reminders of what's going on around the classic at
the Expo, at the way in the Celebrity Pro Am, all sorts of
stuff going on, which I'll also be at the Celebrity Pro AM MC in
that and doing some interviews with those guys.

(06:38):
So that'll be fun. But make sure you download that
app, get your tickets from Ticketmaster.
They are free of charge. It's just a Fort Worth or Texas
law that everybody has to have aticket to come into the weigh
in. So let's jam that place.
Let's have a lot of fun. It's going to be a wonderful
Bassmaster Classic. That being said, I need to get

(06:59):
onto a plane and leave right now, so we might as well just
jump into this show very quickly.
I hope to see you all at the Bassmaster Classic.
I think I hit on everything thatI put on my little list here.
Look at me making a list. I'm very, very prepared.
So find me at the Bass Master Classic.
Would love to meet you all. And without further ado, let's

(07:23):
jump into things with our current leader in progressive
Bass Master Angler of the Year points.
A young angler that, well, really has just felt mature
since the first time I met him. But without further ado, let's
jump into things with one John Garrett.
John Garrett, Life is freaking good.

(07:43):
You're about to fish your secondBass Master Classic.
You are leading Progressive BassMaster Angler of the Year, hot
off a rookie season where you finished in the top ten in
Progressive Bass Master Angler of the Year, won your first
elite in only three tries, and dude, your first 2 events of
this year have been top fives. Life is pretty freaking good.

(08:06):
Life is rolling. I don't.
I mean the fishing part of it isjust a small portion of what I'm
considering success. I mean wife and kids traveling
me this year had a easy work offseason, a good duck season
and catching a few bass. I mean that that that's all a
good recipe put together. How long do you commit?

(08:29):
Like, because duck season for you is like an all in thing,
right? Yeah.
How long is that? It's 60 days, so from December
5th to January 31st, I work 58 of the 60.
I take Christmas Eve and Christmas off.
Me and my workers take those twodays off.

(08:50):
But it is every day, no matter the weather, no matter how cold
it is. We're taking clients out for,
you know, pretty much sixty straight days.
Wow, do you does that? Do you think that helps you on
the elites? Like, I mean, obviously it's a
job, but the break from because it's total opposite to what

(09:11):
you're doing right now. Yeah, there is times like on the
water success. I believe it helps me because I
didn't. I have not picked a rod up since
the last day of Saint Lawrence River last year until the first
day of practice this year. It was the first first time I
picked a rod up. Yep, I think it does me.

(09:34):
Yeah, I think it does me. Well, I've been, you know,
through high school and college,I went all off seasons just
fishing, fishing, fishing. But I think it helps me have a a
clear slate of mind when becausewe don't, we don't ever start
the season off where I'm from inthe mid South.
You know, we always floor to Texas or South Alabama.

(09:57):
We always start somewhere further South, so nothing that I
would be doing here would reallybe helping me out to wherever we
go. So I really enter the season
every year with just fresh sleight of mind.
I mean, I'm, I don't even, I'm dialing up my debt finders,
tuning my graphs in. I mean, I'm doing everything

(10:18):
from a clean slate every single time.
And I mean, everything's clean. I don't save waypoints.
I don't, you know, don't do any pre fishing.
I don't do any of that stuff. So I'll just really like a a
fresh mind when I enter the season and me spending 60 days
in a dump line now fishing is not a part of that.
Now it does set me behind on getting the truck and boat wrap

(10:43):
to get my jerseys done, finalizing, you know, some
partnership kind of stuff that does put me behind in in that
aspect. But as far as on the water, I
not saying I do it on purpose, but I haven't shot away from my
business because I'm not saying it helps me, but I I really
don't think it hurts me at all. So go keep rolling like that for

(11:06):
sure. I mean, it definitely seems to
be working and I, I think there's a theory behind it.
I mean, there's people who neverleave the water, but I also
think there's a theory like you're hungry, like you haven't
you haven't done it in a while. I mean, and I obviously relate
with that. And everybody that lives
anywhere that has a bass season,you know, you're forced to

(11:26):
actually, which seems bizarre tosome parts of the world that
there is such a thing as a bass season.
But you lost me there or had me there or shocked the crap out of
me there when you said you get read away points like you do not
go into a new season with the previous season's way points.
No, no I don't. Wow.

(11:48):
When I, when I sail my boat every year, I delete all tracks,
all waypoints, everything. There is a handful of special
spots that you know, I got the way, you know, I know exactly
where they are up here. Because most of the time, if
something is special enough to make an impact on me, I, I could

(12:09):
drive you right to it, you know,every single time.
But there's so many times where I'm going on the body of water,
you know, and especially in the past, I'd save brush piles, I'd
save this and that. And if I go back to that lake,
away points on it, I'm automatically going back and
checking my old brush piles, checking the old rock piles and

(12:29):
stumps I found. And a lot of time that's just
not the case that that stuff just doesn't work out for me.
Like I like to get on my graph, have a clean chart and run
around and find something that Ilike and say, OK, I caught one
doing this. Let me look for more of it.
And I'm I'm really bad about, you know, I mean, the past two

(12:52):
weeks wasn't an example of that.But say we go to Saint Lawrence
River. I'll be awful about making 100
rock pile waypoints in practice and I only want to hit 15 of
them. Well, then I don't ever remember
which ones I hardly hit because I got 100 rock piles mark at 15
good ones. But I just don't like everything
cluttered up. Like I said, I'm I'm a really
big, not saying believer, but it's just how I operate on the

(13:14):
water is just clean, fresh, you know, really not fly by the seat
of my pants. But if my gut tells me to do
something, I'd rather listen to what comes from me then look at
my graph and say, you know what?I had a twig marked on that bank
from 10 years ago. Let me go fish it so.
Wow, Do you think that's very different than a lot of people?

(13:38):
Yeah. Like do you know anyone else in
the elites that does that? I don't, I don't really know how
a majority of them do their waypoint handling and
management, that kind of stuff. But I know a lot of them fish
like what I'm talking about. Just whatever you feel, you
know, do it. But it's really hard for me to

(14:00):
to pull out that feeling when I have all these old memories,
waypoints and tracks and, you know, all that kind of stuff on
my graph and in my mind. And that's another reason why I
don't pre practice. I just, I want a clogged up
brain. Yeah, yeah.
How freaking frustrating was it for you last year to hear

(14:21):
nothing but like, these rookies are buying waypoints and you're
like, well, I don't even start with freaking waypoints.
Yeah. No, I, it wasn't frustrating to
me just because I knew when all the talk was coming about.
I'm like, well, I have, I have absolutely nothing to do with
any of that. So it didn't bother me at all.
And I think we all just got tired of hearing it in a general

(14:45):
sense. But you know, it didn't bother
me at all. Have you been overtly mean to
the rookies this year just because?
No, but every time I see him, I'm like them Dang rookies.
I can't stand you. You know, I make sure I, I, I
give him a little bit when I walk by, you know, and

(15:05):
especially the tanks and they got bags.
I'm like, well, you got Tucker. He's like, oh, I got this
freaking cheater. You know, I just always I'm, I'm
going to say something and probably to every rookie class
coming up just because of what we had to hear last year.
So yeah, I don't, I don't feel that way, but I'm going to make
sure they hear a little bit. I have a theory, I have a

(15:26):
theory, and we'll see how it works out.
We'll have to see in 10 years from now.
But you guys did, I mean, and insome situations it was just
there was things that happened, but I mean, you guys did
probably put up with more and definitely more publicly than
any rookie class before you. So I feel like 10 years from
now, I feel like everyone that went through that is going to be

(15:49):
a better steward to the new rookies just because they're
like, yeah, and I'm in that situation.
I'm not going to be that way, you know?
So I feel like 10 years from now, the rookies will be like,
everyone's super welcoming here.How do you think that'll work?
I think for the most part you'reright until 10 years from now

(16:14):
they come out with something crazy that I can't understand
how to operate and it just makesbass fly in your live.
Well, I might get a little cranky then, but right now
you're right. But we'll see what happens in 10
years. Yeah, well, those bass flying in
the live, well, I mean, Paul Nick's victory proved that.
We watched him for hours, like staring at just hordes of big

(16:35):
fish that weren't biting. But but if you've never used
forward facing sonar, you do believe that they will jump into
your boat. But I tell people all the time,
come on, fishing with me, I willshow you how ineffective it can
be at times. It is a incredible thing at
times but there's times when it it'll make you frustrated.

(16:58):
Why is this season off to such agood start, do you think?
I really don't know, to be completely honest with you,
when, when the schedule came out, you know, even though I won
the tournament floor last year, when the schedule came out, I
was like, man, that was such a nice start in Texas last year.

(17:21):
I was able to, you know, use ourtechnology to to get by with
some decent finishes and had some fun.
But now we're going to two places.
I'd only seen Rodman last year. I've seen between take off and
Rodman last year. I was coming off that win, had
one day of practice, went to Rodman, went there in the

(17:42):
tournament. So I had really not even seen
the St. John's River.
And out of all the tournament bass fishing I've done in the
past, I don't know, 10-15 years,I've never been to Okeechobee.
So I'm like, I have the two of the biggest bodies of water that
I could go to and I got three days to break them down.
Never seen them. Like, of course this season's
going to start out this way. And I don't know why.

(18:06):
I don't really don't know how itgot off to such a good start.
I mean, it just did. I didn't have good practices at
either event. I had, I had a practice at Saint
Johns River. I know we always stand back
practice, but I had a practice at Saint Johns River that I
really felt like it was going toget me by.

(18:27):
You know, I was like I could cuta check doing this.
I was catching spawners and froggarters and canals.
And day three of that event, everything had changed.
Current started rolling and I started doing what I like to do,
which I had kind of got onto a little bit of practice, but it
fizzled out. But the conditions change back

(18:47):
up for it now, you know, landed on that big bag of fish and
boosted me for a good tournament.
Just that one day really. And then at Okeechobee, I
thought there was like 0% chanceI was going to cut a check and I
had not caught a 3 LB bass in three full days of Okeechobee
fishing. And you know, everybody catches

(19:10):
a couple lucky big ones in practice.
I didn't see that. I literally not caught A3
pounder so I went into an area that I had got a couple small
bites in and the same area one of my roommates said hey I got a
couple small bites in there too.So I just went in there really
to feel a limit and caught 10 1/2 lbs there the first day

(19:34):
didn't find anything else but the next 5 hours kind of
practicing on the lake didn't get another bite.
Went back in there day 2 and they went from this big, let me
get my camera right here to thatbig.
They got big on me and they justswam in and started biting.
I mean, me and John Cox were in there day one.

(19:54):
It didn't happen and it both happened for us both on day 2.
So I didn't plan to be in the right place at the right time
during those two events. It just, that's just kind of how
it transpired. It it, I mean, it leads into
your way of thinking though, like if you were locked into

(20:15):
your pre fish and your dots, none of that happens, right?
I mean you. And it's ironic that you share
it with John Cox because he is like the king of that way of
thinking. You know, literally just, I mean
he's told me before if he get pre fish for a day he'd be fine. 00:20:33,280 Because in his head he's like,
think of how many times you go to a body of water and you don't

(20:36):
catch him the first day and you come back and you're frustrated
and you're like, what? And he said generally you make a
few adjustments and the next dayyou blast him.
He said, so you're actually you're not chasing something.
How did you know things were right on the St.
John's to do what you were doingon day three?
Yeah. So during practice we didn't

(20:57):
have really hard, we had hard winds, but not extremely hard
winds kind of like we did duringthe off day and 1st day, first
day or two of our tournament. And I was fishing down South of
Astor, had hard N winds and the wind had just been blowing in
and blowing in, blowing in that river.
And as I've seen in practice, just natural current flow comes,

(21:21):
you know, kind of up, you know, comes from Astor, goes up into
George and has a natural flow toit.
And a little bit of time I spentdown there, I was able to find a
few schools, offshore fish caught some big ones doing it.
And of course, of course, first two days of tournament, no water
moving and those offshore fish were gone.
So I knew that that was a possibility going into day

(21:45):
three. And then once I got down there,
I seen the water was really rolling.
I'm like, OK, you know, I'm almost in 50th.
I think I went into the day in 38.
I was like, I can, I can only fall 12 spots.
I'm going to get out here where I like to fish and just see if I
can get some of those fish showing back up.
And my first four or five stops where I caught in practice, they

(22:07):
weren't there. But I, you know, located that
school of fish. But just that little taste of,
you know, pre practice. I had to know that I could catch
them offshore the way I like to fish.
And I when I got down there day three, I seen the conditions
were right for it and I knew I only had you know, I could only
at the most catch 1718 lbs catcha frog orders.

(22:28):
I'm like, man, you know, I ain'tgot a whole lot to lose.
I can only fall 12 spots. Let me just see if I can hit a
home run here and fortunately enough out, you know, we did so. 00:22:41,280 I'd say I'd say 31 lbs is a
freaking home run. And on behalf of all crankbait
manufacturers in the world, I think they need to thank you and

(22:48):
Brandon Polnik. Because if you listen to social
media in the offseason, nobody was ever going to catch them on
crank baits. And now we've left Florida with
two back-to-back events that there was both 30 plus # bags
and they were both weighed in oncrank baits.
Did that shock you or did you still have faith in cranking?
No, yeah, I still had, I still had faith.

(23:11):
I, I told you on stage at Saint Johns River, every time I'm in,
I'm going to say the Deep South.You know, whether South Alabama,
Georgia, anywhere with Florida strain bass, if you can find a
way to catch, to get enough bites on a big crane bait,
you're going to be in a positionto win the tournament.

(23:33):
Those Florida strain bass are really the smartest bass that we
fish for in the country and we fish by them 95% of the time and
the 5% of the time we get a bite, it's usually a reaction
bite and we rarely fish for themon the bank.
A lot of times they're off the bank just off Lily pads, grass
or whatever. So if you can find a way to

(23:54):
catch them cranking and produce 5 bites in the boat a day,
you're going to be in a contention to win the
tournament. So when I go down to the, you
know, to Deep South for Florida strain bass, I always try to
make push that every single time.
And most of the time you don't find it because it's so hard to
find. But when you do it, you know you

(24:15):
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Check out Beat Down Outdoors. Now back to the show, I'll be
totally honest. I mean, a major reason that I'm

(24:36):
doing this podcast with you, I told you is your grandmother
sent me the nicest ever viewer e-mail and and I obviously got
to know your grandfather at someevents and then met them both
and stuff. And I was deathly afraid of
going to the bass master classicand running into them and saying
I haven't had John in the podcast.
So thank you for making it all make sense with leading

(24:59):
progressive bass master angler of the year and everything.
But one of the things that has always amazed me about you since
the first time I met you, I think it was in 2016, you fished
the classic, right? Yeah.
Correct. Yeah.
So when you fished as clinch champion, dude, I remember
watching you walk across the stage and I'm like, that kid is

(25:20):
so much more mature than I am right now.
Have you always been kind of level headed and as put together
as you seen from the outside? Yeah, pretty much.
I mean, my, my granddad, you know, basically raised me and he

(25:41):
was exact same way. I mean, great sense of humor,
but not a lot of weird joking around, you know what I mean?
Like he'll crack up with anybody, he'll cut jokes.
But I just got it from him because, I mean, I was under his
arm since I was a little kid. So yeah.

(26:02):
Yeah, I've pretty much always been this way, you know, cut up
a lot, but don't don't play around too much, if that makes
sense. Yeah, that's just how he was.
I've always been that way. Business is business.
Yeah. When did you know you needed to
do this? Like what, When you were a kid?
I know you started fishing tournaments ridiculously early,

(26:23):
like 10 years old or something like that, but did you have a
moment where you're like, man, Idon't, I need to do this for a
living? I so this my granddad, it's a
shame on me. I don't know the year of this,
but my granddad at his Marina, he he runs a a boat shop he had

(26:47):
on VCR. You know, old, the old tape
things you put the TV, you know,Jay Ellis explain.
Them to me, just so you know, I understand what.
It was well, how about all all the viewers younger than I?
Might need an. Explanation for it but he had
the classic that Jay Ellis won on Lay lake.

(27:09):
He caught like five of his big fish on one single Cypress tree. 00:27:17,640 And we grew up on a lake here,
real foot Lake that's just full of Cypress trees and Lily pads.
And I watched that video, that VCR tape probably 100 times in
that bow shop. And I'll just absolutely love
the fact that somebody could do that for a living.

(27:32):
And I don't know, something tiedme together with that Cypress
tree and where I live and whatnot, but had always loved
tournament fishing the right thing.
I was like, that would be awesome to do.
But there, you know, realizationof it was like, I'm probably not
going to be able to do that. And coming out of high school, I
fish, you know, all the way up through high school.
Coming out of high school, I hadno idea what I was going to do.

(27:54):
And the coach of Bethel University, Gary Mason, walked
in to that Marina and offered mea scholarship to go fishing for
Bethel and had had no plans to go fishing in college.
And I was like, you know what? I, my granddad and parents are
probably not going to get on to me for fishing while I'm on a

(28:15):
fishing scholarship, but they would get on to me if I was at
home not working and fishing. So that's the only reason I took
that scholarship, because I could fish for another four or
five years without getting in trouble.
And that my freshman year, sophomore year, I won that
College Classic bracket and fished a classic.
That's kind of when the light bulb went off when I got a

(28:37):
little taste of it when I got onstage there at Minute Maid Park
and I saw Jordan Lee who had just won the classic bracket a
couple years later. It's basically in my same shoes. 00:28:50,960 And man, that was that was a
special moment for me because that was the moment when I was
like, you know what, I would love nothing more to do this.

(28:57):
You know, whether I make a dollar or my family is living
off of ramen noodles or not, I would really like the
opportunity to do this right here.
And just fortunate enough that Iwas able to to get a good taste
of that in college, you know, make a, you know, Fishy opens

(29:17):
for free with a year through Bass Master providing the
college guy that opportunity. And then when I got out of
college, I started fishing the open.
So that VCR tape of J Ellis and that moment of Jordan Lee when
the classic is probably a combination of the two.
I think everyone's got one of those.
I always think that at the Classic there's like everybody's

(29:38):
got a different classic that just really spoke to them.
Like, you know, where they were just like, I don't know what,
like, I mean, I can still remember.
So Robert Hamilton Junior, a former Classic champion.
I had already been a bass masterfan before that, but for
whatever reason, that classic struck.
But I can still remember like the exact words he said when he

(29:58):
won, like on stage, he was like,other than my unbelievable faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ and thebirth of my two children, this
is the greatest day of my life. Like it's so weird that, but
that's from watching that over like I can recite half the
things that Bob Cobb said, you know, over the years.
It's just, it's, it's amazing the impact that that had on so

(30:22):
many people. But Jordan winning, I've always
thought that him winning is, is huge and for him, obviously, but
I also think it had to have a huge impact on all of you just
because up to that point there was different collegiate people. 00:30:40,200 I mean, I think Andrew Upshaw
was the, I know Andrew Upshaw was the first collegiate

(30:42):
competitors. They've been different
competitors, but it kind of was like, you know, these collegiate
guys come and they fish and it'sa cool story, but it didn't
really feel like one of them wasgoing to win.
And then Jordan, I mean, in his first Classic that he physically
is a competitor. Day one goes different and he is

(31:02):
a three time classic champion today.
So that was the closest. And then to see him go.
So what did that? Am I overthinking that or did
watching him win, did it change things for all of you guys?
Yeah, absolutely. I mean that of course the
classics early in the year. So we are basically starting a

(31:23):
new college bass season up untilthat point.
And literally I Jordan won that classic and I believe our next
regional was Bass regional was at Cherokee Lake.
I might be wrong, but I'm prettysure it was.
And there was a totally different feel in that room for

(31:44):
everybody. I mean, not only people was
like, man, that's awesome, you know, And it lit everybody's
eyes up. Like, you know what?
Everybody in this room has an opportunity to do that.
But it seemed from that point forward, that college bass
fishing stage was taking a lot more seriously.
It instantly got more competitive.
People were out to win. They weren't there on vacation.

(32:06):
And I just felt like from that point on, you know, not
including high school fishing, but just college fishing
directly after he won that classic, it was totally
different because I mean, kind of like John Cox, Jordan Lee is
that, you know, just go with theflow.
And I don't really care about it, you know, just that kind of

(32:27):
person. And that sums up 75% of the
college bass fishing world. And having someone like him win
it, it definitely changed Not, you know, maybe not the sport
that might be going too far, butmaybe not.
I mean, I know it changed college bass fishing as a whole. 00:32:49,760 That no doubt in my mind about

(32:49):
that. Without college bass fishing, do
you think you're doing this today?
No, there's not a chance. There would be a pretty good
chance that I did. I would not even own a glass
bass fishing boat. Really.
Yeah, I believe that I would probably have an aluminum boat
that I duck haunted out of and put a troll motor on after duck

(33:12):
season because before that college bass fishing offer I had
to Bethel. Like I said, I had no idea what
I was going to do. And the last thing that I
probably would have done is taken the few cents I had and
entered a bass open. I mean, realistically, you know,
maybe down the road I would haveI, you know, it's hard to say

(33:35):
what would have happened, but I know, you know, in the near
future, within a couple years, that's probably not in the plans
for me. Wow, just you saying that makes
me feel like such an idiot just simply because I don't know if
you've ever heard me tell this. I tell it as often as possible
because I believe when you make a mistake, you might as well own
up to it. Jerry Mcinnis was the big

(33:56):
proponent that said, Hey, we need to, a collegiate angler has
to go to the Bassmaster Classic.And I remember arguing with
Jerry and being like, Nah, that's nuts.
We can't just give this college kid a free pass to the classic
because at the time, and, and I still feel this way.
I'm always trying to the dudes that put their whole life on the

(34:18):
line. I'm, I'm trying to fight for
them. And, and at the time, it just
seemed so like we're just going to give this free ticket to a
kid from college. I have since been reminded so
many times that like how stupid I was and how off base I was
just because, I mean, you look at what it's done to collegiate
fishing, how many lives it's changed, how it's, I mean, just

(34:41):
look at all of you guys, how much connection there is
between. It's truly one of the most
amazing things in the history, not just for your career, but
for the sport. I mean, there was a time we used
to wonder, well, what? There's no young people fishing. 00:34:57,440 And now people are like, oh,
there's too many freaking young people fishing.
And a lot of it's because of collegiate fishing.

(35:05):
Yeah, I'm going to say 1. I want to say one thing on that
before you jump something else. So I know coming, you know, at
me speaking for myself, and I think a lot of the other guys
that you see a lot of the the classic bracket champions are
now in the elite series, doing well in the opens, making a name
for their self. I I don't really think that is

(35:29):
because they were the best college fishermen that year,
that time or anything like that.I think it's because like when I
qualify and I fish that classic,I had that experience and you
get that taste of what it's really like.
And then that taste, you know, puts a foot in your butt and
it's like get your butt in gear,earn your way back.

(35:51):
And I think it just makes a person that wins that classic
bracket work harder to get to that platform.
I really do think that because if I feel like if they give out
four or five, I'm not saying they should, but if they gave
out more opportunities like that, I think, you know, you'd
see more people like myself and Cody Huff and the people that

(36:13):
come through that path would getto where they are today.
But definitely a good opportunity they give out.
Yeah, yeah, No, it's, it's, it'san amazing program and it it,
you see, I mean it, I think he gets way under and I think it's
nobody's really ever dissected it like why it's so successful.

(36:35):
Like, it's not just that it's, it's what it's made schools do.
It's what it's made coaches, youknow what I mean?
All of a sudden it went from, let's be honest, before that it
was clubish. You know what I mean?
You had some serious people, butyou had a lot of people who are
just, yeah, I like to fish. I'll be part of the bass club.
And now, I mean, you kids are getting up.

(36:57):
I mean, you are a prime example.A guy walked in and said, hey,
here's a scholarship if you wantto come.
I mean, you. So would you have gone to
college if that wasn't offered? No, absolutely not.
Wow. Would not have gone to college.
Yeah, my, I would have lived life probably in a duck blind on
real foot lake if that, if that wasn't an offer.

(37:20):
So now I'm living life in a duckblind and on a on a bass boat
because of that. So no college was in my plans
until that happened. Wow, it's pretty incredible.
Another incredible thing that floated around about you this
weekend and I I was very excitedabout it.
I don't know why, but I geeked out about it every time you were

(37:41):
talking about fishing on live. I was like, just tell me about
the UFO, what happened? Make sure.
There's no one watching. Oh, they're watching, trust me.
You know, Dave, the more I talk about it, the more I feel like

(38:02):
it may come back in my life and try to try to suck me and my
family up in it because I don't know if it's supposed to be
talked about or not, you know? But no, we go ahead.
No, you go, you go. I'm not saying a word until you
tell me this story. You cannot get out of it.
OK, tell you the real story, full story.

(38:24):
All right. We were staying on the South
side of Okeechobee and we were making an hour drive every
morning. 2nd morning of the tournament I was looking to the
east because the sun was barely breaking over the horizon and it
was just a nice view. Few palm trees out in the cow
pasture, you know, silhouetted by the light sunrise.

(38:47):
And I see this dim light and it's getting closer by half a
second. I'm like this thing is closing
the distance. I tell my wife Morgan, she was
talking to Kiss. Hey, look at this.
Coming across the truck here andit went as Far East as I could

(39:07):
see just in the sunlight came right across the front of my
truck. I mean, it wasn't eye level or
anything. It was probably half a mile in
the air. But it crossed the front of my
truck and you could see three dim lights on the front of it,
kind of in a cup shape. Let me see, kind of like that

(39:30):
was the front of it and. What?
What color? It was.
They're just a light, clear light, like a daylight light
bulb. OK.
Nothing fancy and the back of itI can only see the front because
only a small portion of the front was lit up, but I could

(39:51):
see like a trail it was leaving.It looked like the back end of a
torch would like, not the flame part, but like the output of the
flame. Like just the perimeter of it.
And it was behind it. So it flew as Far East as I
could see across the truck and as far West as I could see.
Completely out of sight in a matter of seconds.

(40:16):
No way of, I mean a really fast drone.
And it was a big drone. If it was a drone, it.
Would have been that kind of distance like it's cooking.
I mean so. So it was substantially faster
than any plane you've ever see fly past or.
Yeah, you could, you could watcha plane for good couple minutes,

(40:39):
you know, from inside to out of sight.
This thing was seconds. I mean, it was cooking, it was
gassing, just all the way acrossthe sky.
And what, what did you do to just stare at it like?
I told my wife I was like, Morgan, look at this thing, look
at this thing. And it crossed and we were
staring at it and it went out ofsight and probably a minute went

(41:03):
by and I was like, what was that?
She was like, I have no idea. And I didn't know what to think
about it. So we did a Morgan did a little
Googling, didn't find anything that resembled it because she's
like, well, maybe it's a satellite, maybe it's a star
link, whatever, you know, But ohsmart man, Google didn't didn't

(41:28):
nothing popped up that resembledwhat we've seen.
I mean, it was early, had been fishing many days in a row, but
I saw something crazy and my wife saw it as well.
It it's kind of one of those deals, like if I had woke up and

(41:51):
saw that and went back to sleep,I woke up the next morning just
thinking I probably dreamed. It it was a dream, yeah.
It prop yeah. So the fact that I was awake and
driving and it was able to process whatever I saw, you
know, makes me I mean, I did seeit and I thought about it quite
a bit and I mean y'all heard me talk about all best life, but I

(42:13):
don't know what it was. But whatever it was makes makes
me feel like I didn't see it. But I I know I did.
Do you believe it was a UFO? Like is?
What do you think? I mean, it was unidentified,
unidentified and it was flying object as I believe you said.

(42:33):
I don't know what it was, I haveno idea.
Never seen anything like it, butI've also not spent many early
mornings in Florida looking at the sky.
So it could have been a Disney character flying to Orlando or
something, you know? I don't know what it was then
Florida, people got something special down there, but it was

(42:54):
something crazy. It, I mean, if it hadn't been
something that everybody saw, you would be able to find it.
I mean, people would have been like, Oh yeah.
And as much as it's been talked about, like I haven't heard one
person, like, dude, you can put anything on the Internet.
Somebody would tell you like, I mean, it doesn't matter what
somebody's going to be like, oh,well, that's the this, this and

(43:15):
this. They're going to explain it to
you. As much as it's been talked
about on bass live on different places and nobody can explain
it. It is.
It is definitely. Did you believe so?
Do you believe in like life in outer space previous to this?

(43:36):
No. No, no.
So what the hell was it then? I mean, it was just a.
Could have, I mean, could have been Elon Musk just reporting to
work in the morning. I don't know what it was.
I'm not saying what it was because I have no idea.
I'm sure there's a lot of thingsthat are here on this country we

(43:59):
have no idea about. So I I don't know.
I don't know what it was. Some kind of military deal, UFO,
flying mass. Yeah.
Who knows what it was. Yeah.
There's weird stuff. But it was something.
The I'm definitely, I mean something that moved that quick. 00:44:19,160 I mean I'm enthralled.
I I you need to get a freaking dash Cam is what you need to

(44:22):
get. I mean you'll it'll never happen
again and so the dash Cam will be worth it.
If you have a dash Cam, it'll never happen again.
But I don't know so this happened at the second event,
right? Okeechobee. 2nd event Day 2 of
Okeechobee, Yeah. Yeah, I had a weird thing
happen. I don't know if they're at all

(44:42):
associated. I didn't see anything flying,
but I still can't. I'm like, did my mind cross
thread or what has happened? But but I left the Okeechobee
event and like everybody, I don't know where I'm going.
I just know that when my little weighs machine tells me turn
right now, I turn right and whatever.
So I I'm flying out of Orlando. So I put after the event, I put

(45:07):
in the hotel that I'm staying atthe night before the flight and
it says an hour and 50 minutes. OK, no big deal.
So I get in and I'm driving and all is good.
And I mean, after an event, it felt like a great Florida swing. 00:45:21,880 I'm happy.
Life is good and it's beautiful,more beautiful night to drive.
It was just a nice night. Everything's good.

(45:27):
So I drive for about an hour, 50minutes to an hour, and I stop
at a gas station, need to get gas.
I get gas, I get back in my vehicle and you know that says
continue your drive. And I'm figuring it's going to
say about 50 minutes to an hour and 10 minutes.
I didn't really keep that. Now it says it's two hours and

(45:49):
30 minutes and I'm like well what the how is it?
And it's sending me back like the other direction.
So dude I do all this search andI call my wife Sarah and I'm
like is there traffic somewhere?Like what is going like I cannot
figure out And then I'm like well maybe Waze is screwed up.
So I've used like 3 different GPSS systems to and they're all

(46:10):
sending me like a weird way but there was no traffic.
It was so I'm like, did I just have like an hour long vortex in
my mind where just time disappeared?
But I'm like, this is ridiculousbecause I was all excited.
I'm like, I'm going to be at thehotel at 7.
Nothing like seeing a spacecraft.
Maybe I'm just insane, but thereis some stuff going on down

(46:30):
there and and I think you saw a little bit of it.
If you may have got you for an hour.
Maybe, I don't know, I don't remember.
Dude, I swear to you, I sat in the parking lot and I'm like
dude, it's am I losing my mind? Like how am I like how is this
part and I re punched it in. I'm like how is it possible?
I drove for an hour and it was an hour and 50 minutes and now

(46:52):
it's two hours and 30 minutes and I'm an hour away from where
like, I mean, and there's no waylike on all those GPS, there's
no way I was driving the wrong way because that's a simple
answer. You drove the wrong way.
If you've ever tried to do that with Waze or anything, they are
incessant. They'll be like turn left now
turn like every time to get you to pull a UE.

(47:14):
So there's no way that was happening.
I, I don't know what happened, but I feel like, I mean, your
encounter was a lot more exciting than mine.
Are you? Do you think you get to the
point that you're tired of talking about it?
No, I'll talk about it. I think you get asked about it a
lot like. Until, until some weird stuff

(47:36):
starts happening in my life, I will.
I will talk about it. Yeah, OK.
Well, hopefully you keep talkingabout it because I don't want
any weird stuff to happen because that's what happens to
all those people because nobody believes them.
And then they go crazy trying totell everybody I'm telling the
truth. I mean, that must be a horrible
feeling, but I believe you. I I don't.

(47:56):
I don't think lies are possible for you.
I. Appreciate that and it I'm on
the Mercer podcast saying I saw UFO so if I come up missing this
should be online for everybody to see you.
Know. Yeah.
Yeah. No, you're not.
I mean, you're fine. You're fine.
I mean, aliens don't even watch this podcast.
It's fine. I mean, trust me, the last thing

(48:18):
they're doing is watching this. I mean, there's a lot of great
podcasts. The last thing they're tuned
into the is this. But I, I honestly do not believe
you know how to lie. And I know that because you're
one of the only pros who are like, Oh yeah, we all lie about
our baits. So like, I mean, you don't know
how to lie, but you do know how to, let's say, hide things.

(48:40):
Do you really believe like so when we do top 10 lures, what
percentage do you think is telling the truth?
I think everybody has a little truth and a little phony.
I'm going to say 5050. I'm going to say they're going

(49:02):
to show. Well, you just show.
I I want 2 baits most of the time.
Yeah, I want to say they got onebait that they have probably
thrown during the week, maybe caught a bass on and one bait
that they did not throw at all that I'm going to say 50%.
That seems really high. Like I, I feel like, I mean, so

(49:27):
they're all like we're living a lie.
Like this is all just, I mean how much of yours is a lie when
you if I go back and look at your top 10 baits?
35%. So you're better than average.
Yeah, I mean, yeah, I mean a part of it is because the bait

(49:55):
company I work for literally makes everything and I do use a
lot of sponsored product baits, but I still use some non
sponsored product baits as everybody else does.
But other companies may not makeas much.
So people may not want to push, you know, of course a non

(50:16):
sponsored product. So yeah, I'd say 50% on average
is probably not being used in the tournament.
And I would say 75% of Bates I show are accurate and 35% of
them are not. That might be a little high on
35%, but probably pretty close. So our guys not telling the

(50:40):
truth because it's not a companythey work with and they're not
telling the truth because they want to keep a particular beta
secret. It's both I think.
I think JDM baits dice and bugs and you know, stuff that really
hard to get are being kept a secret.

(51:04):
Not really because people don't want to know what you're using
is because some of that stuff isalready hard to get and then
when word gets out, it becomes impossible to get.
So I think having baits available for us to use has a
big part of it. And I think another part of it
is because we're using a non sponsored product.

(51:24):
And I mean, it doesn't always happen, but it it does happen,
you know, there's certain scenarios where you need to use
a different bait and you just don't, you're not supposed to
advertise for someone that you're not representing.
I mean, that's just that's just part of our job.
So it's a 5050 of wanting to keep something secret, like I

(51:45):
said, not to not help fans out, but to keep it more available to
us because believe it or not, itsometimes it's really hard to
get the tackle that we like to have on our boat and there's
only a small portion of us trying to get it.
And yeah, the other part is when, you know, we just don't
really need to show it. So about half and half.

(52:06):
Is that one of the toughest parts about your job?
Because now you see, I mean, even if you, no matter what you
show in top 10 baits, we're going to see what you're
throwing. You know what I mean on live for
the most part. Yeah, I wouldn't say the it's
not the toughest part because most all of us even if we're not

(52:28):
strictly using a sponsor product, we are doing a well
enough job that it's not really going to bother the partnerships
you have for the for the most part.
It's just that you don't really,it just doesn't really make you
feel good when you are selling adifferent brands product when

(52:51):
you're not trying to. So I wouldn't say it's the
toughest part. It's just one of those deals
that's like you don't want to happen, but it does.
Look how unprofessional I am. I didn't have the lights set up
right. Look, look, do I look better now
or worse? I don't know.
You just realized that halfway through the podcast.
Such an idiot. Yeah.

(53:12):
And I think that that's when we were live as helped.
Like I think sponsors know. I mean, I mean, ultimately
you're working with a company, but ultimately you got to catch
them. And there is situations where
not every company makes every bait.
There's I think it's actually pushed bait companies.
Live has pushed bait companies to be better with making baits

(53:36):
in the way that like before it wasn't called out.
Now they're like, yeah, no, we need to have a bait in that
category. I mean, it probably has inspired
more knockoffs, but has helped, you know, make sure that all the
holes are filled. Yeah, no, you're, you're exactly
right. And you know, you know this as

(53:59):
well as anybody is that when I get on my social media and I'm
saying, hey, you know, they're chewing a striking 5 XD, they
might sell a few plugs. But when you see me pulling in
A7 pounder on the St. John's River with A5 XD
sideways, sideways in its mouth,that's what sells the plugs.

(54:19):
I mean, it really does. Because everyone always has
known, like what I said earlier,like, are they really telling
the truth? But when you see what guys are
using on Bastlaw, that's what that's what sells products.
I mean, it's not really. Yeah, social media is a part of
it. But it's like, what is John
really using? Because I promise you that if

(54:42):
all of us knew what Koya Fujita had tied on his spinning rods
every single tournament, we would all go buy a tackle box
full of it. I promise we don't care what
brand it is. So the the fans like to see what
we're actually using and and Beslob does that.
Yeah, Aveco not only makes incredible outdoor clothing, but
they care about anglers. With their 10% pledge, Aveco and

(55:05):
the Shed family donate at least 10% of the company's profits to
conservation and making fishing better.
Now back to the show. What is different about like
compared to when you were dreaming about being the elites
in 2016 and you're here? Is it about the same as you
dreamed? Is it different, better, worse

(55:28):
whereas? I don't.
It's hard to say because I wasn't here then.
You hear all the the veterans saying, you know, that those
were the good times versus now. But I can promise you that my

(55:52):
class, the class before me, the rookie class now we're having as
good of a time as it you could possibly have.
You hear the gripe and you hear this and that.
You hear the outspoken people. But to be honest with you, you
don't hear my, I'm not saying mygeneration, but the classes

(56:13):
around me doing that. Yeah, it's because we're just
having a blast. We're having a good time.
We're grateful to be here. No, we didn't experience what it
was, if it was better, if it wasworse.
What we don't know. All we know is that what we have
right now and it's nothing but great.
I mean, we love it. We don't have anything to

(56:37):
compare it to, but I'm fine not have anything to compare to it
because I know that right now we're having a really good time. 00:56:44,800 It's funny you say that because
I've had that theory for a while.
When you hear people my age thatare like, hey, man, this isn't,
this isn't what I fell in love with.
This isn't. But I'm like, yeah, but you're

(56:57):
not 20, you're not 25, you're not 30.
You, you know, like, and you keep going back to people go
back to when they were 2025 and 30 and they're like, these were
I felt this way about the sport.And I'm like, yeah, but you are
not going to feel the same. You will not feel the same way
about the sport when you're 50. It's just natural, you know what
I mean? Like you don't and and I, you're

(57:21):
kind of standing behind what I've said.
I'm like, I think that the 20 year olds think it's just as
cool as it ever was. And that's kind of proven by the
fact that there's more 20 year olds doing it now or trying to
do it then there ever has been in the past.
So that's pretty neat to see you've had a few adventures on

(57:47):
the road, though. I did a little research before
we chatted here. Talk to some of your roommates.
Let's hear what you got. Tell me about a gas station
encounter on Wheeler Lake. Oh yeah, I thought I've had two
gas station encounters. I'd like to hear them both all.
Right, Wheeler Lake, third day of the tournament, I believe,

(58:16):
and you were Wheeler Lake. It was extremely hot.
I'm talking God. It was bad.
Like I may have had a heat stroke on day four.
I don't know. It was just bad.
OK, so day three, I'm a championship Sunday and I'm
like, well, good, I made a top ten, but I got a fish another

(58:37):
115° day. Let's go get some gas, let's get
some ice. Let's get everything ready to
go. So, but you, you know this,
believe it or not, Wheeler or Decatur, AL is very small but
very busy, very busy little towncars everywhere.
I'll pull over just the most convenient, convenient store,

(58:59):
which was not the nicest one, but it it was on the side of the
road I was at. So I pulled over and it was one
of those gas stations where there's a pump on all on both
sides in a small store in the middle, no bathroom, you know,
few cigarettes and Gatorades andchocolate bars.
And that's that's about it on the inside.

(59:21):
And the lady had walked out the side I parked on, put the gas
nozzle in my truck, put the gas nozzle on my boat, and I went to
walk in and the door was locked on my side.
And I was like, I could swore I just saw somebody walk out of
there. But I've been sweating all day.
Maybe I didn't. Maybe I'm seeing stuff, you

(59:43):
know? And I walk around the other side
and open the door and there was a little drug swap going on at
the cash register. At the red cash register, when I
walked in, there was a guy with a full size gallon bag filled

(01:00:04):
with small Ziploc bags full of white medicine.
Now I don't know what it was, but it was full of it.
And the guy behind the cash register was handing cash over
for it. And I walked in.
You don't. Think it was a goodies?
You know that goodies? Pain Medic.

(01:00:24):
Taco powder, whatever Taco puts on whatever he puts on his
little bugs at Saint Lawrence River, that's what they were
exchanging here. And I don't know what he uses.
I don't know. I don't know what he's got.
But that's what it looked like in those bags, OK.
Yeah, OK. So I walk in and I look the guy
handed drugs and they both look at me like they've seen a ghost

(01:00:47):
and I'll probably look the same way.
And my number one thing on the list is I was going to get some
body armors. I was going to get drinks and
ice and some ice cream. All right, because it's been
hot. So I get my drinks and I walk up
to the cash register with my drinks and they were both

(01:01:08):
looking at me and I was like, well, I won't say a word if I
get my ice and my ice cream and my drinks for free.
And I was laughing. I was just trying to joke my way
out of it and the guy said, how do we know you're not a cop?
And I was like, dude, I got a fishing jersey on and I said

(01:01:30):
I've been sweating all day. You probably smell my Bo.
And I said there's my bass boat right out there.
I said it's got my name on it. And he looked at the boat, He
looked at me, he looked at the cash grocery.
He said, get my ice and ice cream.
So I, I, I slid open the ice cream tub was right beside the

(01:01:51):
guy with a backpack full of drugs and I slid it open and I
took two twix ice cream bars andI was like all right, y'all have
a good day? And I walked out the door.
I grabbed my bags of ice and went about my.
Business. So now that you interrupted a

(01:02:12):
drug deal, you brokered a deal through?
Yeah, you know, I had a just a split second to really think
about what the position I was inand I did not feel endangered at
all. Like I, I never felt like I'm in

(01:02:33):
a bad situation. I don't know why I felt that
way. Maybe it was a long hot day on
the water. I may have been delusional.
I, I don't know what instincts kicked in, but my first thought
was like, I'm just going to jokemy way out of this.
And I just like, hey man, get myice and ice cream for free.
I'm not going to say a word, youknow?
And that's what they did. So got got a couple free ice

(01:02:54):
cream bars and two bags. I got the big bags of ice too.
I didn't get the small 7 LB bagsI got.
I got the big bags. Yeah.
Filled my cooler up ice. Yeah.
I can't believe that that actually worked.
I mean, I'm sure you could have said anything at that point.
They just wanted you to go away.They wanted me out there, yeah.

(01:03:19):
So there's two gas station. Encounters.
The other one was not really an encounter as I was in a dire
need of a gas station at Saint Johns River.
We all had maybe some bad food the night before.

(01:03:40):
Oh boy, so you weren't like in need of a gas station for gas?
I was. I did have gas, yeah.
You didn't need to get gas. Yeah, exactly.
But I woke up that morning with a with a dire need.
Let me rewind this a little bit.The night before, I stayed up to
like midnight rigging rods. Mosquitoes were out and I went

(01:04:05):
into the house without all my stuff tightened up.
I had rods everywhere, baits everywhere, and just wasn't
completely done. Anyway.
Ended up eating, taking a shower, going to sleep, forgot
about it. Woke up that morning in a dire
need of the bathroom and so did everybody else in the house.

(01:04:27):
Both bathrooms were full and there was a gas station 10
minutes between our house and around.
I was like, OK, you know, I'll get ice, I'll use the bathroom.
No big deal. About halfway there it got
really serious. Really serious.
I need to use the bathroom. Very bad.

(01:04:47):
And I was starting to sweat. My eyes were sweating, my
armpits are sweating. I'm just holding on.
My eyes were sweating. I mean, I was holding off for
dear life. I mean it was bad and I go way
too fast like as fast as my truck will go to get this gas
station and I kept hearing this noise around my boat and every

(01:05:12):
time I look in the mirror there was no cars all the cars were
just way behind me. I just thought because I was
going so fast I didn't really think nothing about it.
I got to the gas station, grabbed my dude wipes, barely
made it in on time and then whenI walked back out to my truck my
rod coffins were open and I had no rods in my truck which

(01:05:34):
started about 50 rods and the left hand side of my boat.
My rods were gone from all the rods I rigged not before and my
rod box was open and almost all my plastics had flown out my
boat. So bathroom, I needed a bathroom
a little too bad and drove a little too fast without my stuff

(01:05:56):
strapped down and lost almost everything.
Yeah. Wow, wow.
So did you go back and get it orit was?
So I I called Cody or Rob that had not made the trip yet and
the few things they had seen were already smashed.

(01:06:18):
In the room, yeah. You made it to the bathroom
though, right? I did indeed make it.
I'm not. I'm not saying it was worth
losing all that. No, I wasn't.
But it was in a bad, I was bad shape, yeah.
Yeah, but it could have been worse.
I mean, you could have lost all that and then still made a mess

(01:06:41):
of yourself. Yeah, exactly.
Yeah. Oh, wow, that's brutal.
Brutal. Spent all that time rigging too. 01:06:52,080 This is the worst thing.
So. So you just went and competed.
And I mean, I've never heard about this.
So you just grabbed what you hadand fished with it?
Or did you keep it low key or? No, I had.

(01:07:07):
I made what? I had work.
I threw a jerkbait on a worm rodthat day.
Yeah, I just. I made what I had work.
What not deal. But I fished what I had.
Yeah, yeah. What's your dream in life?
My dream in life, probably living it right now.

(01:07:27):
It's a good place to be. Good place to do, good place to
be. Got a good family, Good Wife, my
kids doing great. I'm chasing green slimy alien
bass around the country right now and getting a duck hunt in

(01:07:47):
the winter. I mean, yeah.
I mean, I I love to fish, love my family.
Both are doing great right now. So, I mean, it's just there's
not a whole else, you know, a whole lot else I could ask for,
to be honest with you. Yeah, I'm good right now.
So. So if a genie landed in front of

(01:08:08):
you and said hey, you get one wish, it would just be not to
change things. No, I have to wish for
something, Dave, I mean. What would it be?
I mean the easy answer is like when a classic or AOI, but I

(01:08:39):
think I might have to go with being able to travel in that UFO
carrying my boat to every elite series event for the rest of my
life. That way, no more drive time and
I will know what I saw on the way to Okeechobee the other day. 01:08:59,760 Yeah, yeah.

(01:08:59):
And yeah, you won't lose rods. I mean you'll make it to every
batch. In record time, I mean those
long drives with the kid, I meanit it's a takes a toll on you so
UFO would make it a lot quicker.I bet, I bet.
How bad do you want to win the Classic?

(01:09:20):
Yeah, yeah, I I definitely want to Yeah, that that would be
awesome. That or AO wise, what we all
strive for from the very first term of the year.
Didn't really wasn't, I'm not saying, I mean we're all hungry
for for a win, but knowing this,you know, looking back on a

(01:09:47):
Saint Johns River, if I had known the situation I was in, of
course we all would have, shouldhave, could have.
I would have went and caught twomore keepers, you know, and had
a chance to win that tournament had no Brandon blew the doors
off of Okeechobee, but you know,Brandon hadn't have called him.

(01:10:09):
You know, I was in 2nd place could have won that tournament.
So being really close to winningback-to-back events, getting a
taste of a win last year makes makes you want to win pretty
Dang bad. So yeah, I want to win pretty
bad. You know, it's not everybody
wants to win the Classic, but it's just more so that I want to

(01:10:32):
win in general. I'm not saying every single
tournament course we all do, butlike just in general, you want
to win, you want to be there, you want to beat the brakes off
everybody. I mean, that's what that's what
satisfies you. I mean, it's just knowing that
you out competed, you outsmart, you out thought you out prepared
everybody else for that tournament.

(01:10:53):
And. We all, we all wanted to be the
classic. I mean the classic is, you know,
I don't want to bite my own tongue here, but it's only a
three day event. You only are competing against
55 guys, so if there was a tournament to just get crazy

(01:11:19):
dumb lucky a couple times and have a chance to win, it's
probably the classic. So only getting efficient once a
year against 50 guys you only got to catch 15 bass instead of
20 you know. But that that'd be the one to
win for sure. And not saying the most doable
no, but if stars had aligned it could probably happen the

(01:11:45):
easiest, if that if that does, if that makes sense at all.
Yeah, on paper, it's the easiesttournament to win.
I mean by far when you weigh in all those things.
I mean, the only thing that makes it difficult is the fact
that you'll only get so many of them, you know, to to fish and
and even if you make everyone, it's once a year and and it's

(01:12:09):
also just take it's three days, But it is a crazy like you just
watch. It's one of my favorite things.
Just watch how like I'll look atthe room before the classic
starts and I'll be like, there'speople in this room that like
you just watch. Watch how Hamner's life changed
last year, like how he went frombeing kind of a guy that not a

(01:12:32):
lot of people knew, you know what I mean, to, you know, he's
leading the classic and just like you just watch how and you
watch how the pressure ratchets through the there's nothing like
it. It is, it's very cool and no
pressure on you or anything. But I'll put a selfish request
in. Last year, the guest right

(01:12:53):
before the classic was Justin Hamner, and now you're the guest
right before the classic. So I mean, if if at any moment,
if you're close to winning it and you kind of think, ah, this
is only my second classic, I'll have more.
Just do it for me. I mean, just because, I mean, do
you realize how, I mean, this podcast can't give a lot to the

(01:13:15):
world, but that could be something, right?
You would have you'd be having people begging to pay.
No telling what to get on your podcast a week before the
classic be a very sought after episode.
And nobody, nobody would want tocome on the rest of the year.

(01:13:36):
But that week, they'd be like, get me in.
No, no, I mean, make it happen. I mean if, if if not for anybody
else, do it for me, damn it all.Right.
Try my best, Dave. What's going to be different
about this classic for you? You've already been to one, it's
been a while, but what's going to be different for you?

(01:13:59):
Have you thought like, are you doing anything different?
Like we fish it different or. No different from the first one. 01:14:11,080 The first one I fish, think I
was 1819, something like that. And I really just wanted to
enjoy myself. And I may have said this before,

(01:14:21):
but man, I, I went in that classic, you know, I practiced
how I did when I was 18 and I fished how I did in the
tournament and I wasn't stressedout.
And man, it was a, it was a blast.
I mean, literally like, like I said earlier, it's the reason
why I'm here today is because I fished that classic.
And I think me stepping back andenjoying that and seeing what it

(01:14:44):
was really about and how it affected people is why I'm here
today. So I'm glad I did that.
I'm glad I didn't go there stressed out, popping Gray hairs
trying to catch bass. And that was the only thing I
was worried about. I'm glad I didn't do that
because in reality, I, I was tooyoung, you know, too green and
I, I just didn't really have a chance to compete with those

(01:15:06):
guys. Now that I've been here for a
year and have competed with these guys, like I, I realize
that I can compete and I'm goingto go out practice and trying to
catch and find the biggest bass that I possibly can and going
going to try to win that thing as the other 50 something

(01:15:29):
anglers are going to. But it will be different from my
first one. First one, I'm like, I'm here to
enjoy it. This one, I'm going into it and
thinking, you know what, like you said, I may not be able to
fish many of these. I may be able to fish the next
30. I don't know, but I'm going to
try my best to win every single classic that I get in as

(01:15:51):
everybody else probably does. So yeah, I'm not I'm not going
to go there settling for you know what, what's it going to
take to take a 50 cut? What's it going to take for me
to get in that what Super 6 or anything like that?
I was like, I need to find the winning bass and I will keep
practicing the same way I've been practicing.

(01:16:12):
Haven't even done any map study or watching YouTube or I haven't
done anything like that. Nothing, not nothing yet.
I ordered a boat lane map coupledays ago when I got back, you
know to see where I can run and not run as it came in yet, but
haven't done any studying time will do the same exact thing

(01:16:34):
that I always do go out fresh set of mind and try to locate
where those big bass are. I mean that's that's what it's
going to come down to. I mean, I think it's going to be
probably a little heavier weightthan I believe what they saw in
the June classic. I can't.
Remember. Exactly what one I think it's
going to be a really good tournament thing.

(01:16:56):
We'll see a lot more big bass and that's kind of what I will
try to put myself around and we'll try to find the big ones
and win that thing so. Have you dreamed at that moment? 01:17:10,560 Oh yeah, yeah.
I mean really, since, you know, that J Ellis video and that

(01:17:17):
Jordan Lee moment, you know, Jordan, the J Ellis moment is to
me, me thinking, man, that's awesome.
The Jordan Lee moment thinking could be me one day, you know?
Yeah, I mean, it would. I've dreamed of it, thought
about it, and I'll be first timefishing a while.

(01:17:40):
You know that tournament with that opportunity getting to see
that classic trophy, you know during the meeting and briefing
and check in and you know the 50drone fly around videos.
Y'all go post on Instagram of the of the trophy.
You know, so I'll be in the sameroom as that trophy for sure,

(01:18:01):
and as everyone else, the goal is to hold that thing and take
it home. So.
Would you touch the trophy? Some people are very
superstitious. They won't touch the trophy.
Would you touch it? I don't, I don't know, I don't
feel, I don't think, I feel, I don't feel any way about that.

(01:18:24):
I might treat it like how I treat my wife.
Sometimes it's like, should I give her a hug or does she need
space? It's hard, you know, Sometimes
it's hard to read the room, but you get this gut feeling right
before you do something. So I'll look at it and I'll look
at that classic trophy. I'll decide then whether I touch

(01:18:46):
it or not. Yeah, yeah.
I might, I might take a step further.
I might take a selfie with it. I don't know.
We'll see how see how it feels. Well, I mean, you can take lots
of selfies with it, especially if you win it come Sunday night. 01:19:03,640 I mean it.
I mean, just do it for the freaking show, is what I'm

(01:19:08):
saying. Yeah.
Do it for the show, Yeah. All right.
Don't screw it up. Hammer's going to be upset that
I didn't have him on, but he's busy doing what a defending
champion does. Yeah.
What's your favorite sound on Earth?
Favorite sound? Can I go with two?

(01:19:32):
Yeah. There's two that pop.
There's two that's popped in my mind may not be related with
this one, Dave, but you might beable to is when I'm sitting in
the duck blind in a timber hole on just a crystal clear sunny
day and I just hear a Drake mileor just just that everything's

(01:19:56):
quiet and you hear that. And when the when you have a
duck do that, it's like, OK. We're about to get something in
here. You don't always see it off the
bat Sun may be in your eye, but that's one of those like all
right, y'all ease down y'all getready.
Something cool is about to happen that that noise is like

(01:20:16):
you know, it's about to go down and the duck hunting world it's
about to go down. The second noise is probably
just a bass blowing up. Just, you know, you get that
every bass fisherman has that, you know, bass striking noise
just lodged in their brain. You know, you can hear gar and

(01:20:39):
bluegill popping and carp slapping their tail.
But when that bass eats, it's a specific noise and we all have
it lodged in our brain. We all love hearing it.
So those two noises popped up. I've run a Yamaha outboard for
over 30 years. It has got me home safe each and
every time. If you enjoy this podcast,

(01:21:02):
remember Yamaha supports it and they care enough about you to
make this ad read very short. Now back to the show.
What advice if you if if 18 yearold John Garrett was just fish
in this class? Like I just finished if you
could, if that could, if that dude could teleport and give you

(01:21:22):
some advice going into this class, what advice would he
remind you to do? When just.
Ask great advice just when that's.
It just seems. Cooler that way for.
Sure. Yeah.
Just win, yeah. What's your greatest fishing

(01:21:44):
memory? Do you have one that stands out? 01:21:58,600 I got one that I got 2, but one
of them I was in the backyard ofmy granddad and we had every

(01:22:06):
time we go fishing that I was ata young age, I was probably like
five years old. He would bring fish back from
real foot, dump them in the pondand there was too many fish in
that pond account and not enoughbait in there for them to eat.
So they were very hungry. And I begged him to go out
fishing right after the pond unthawed.

(01:22:29):
And he tied me on a red crank bait.
And I had on a reel I just got from Christmas.
It was a button reel, a rhino button reel, and it was red and
silver and black and I thought it looked like a Lamborghini at
the time. I just absolutely loved it.
And we had done almost a full circle around this pond and

(01:22:53):
neither one of us had taken a bite, which is very, very hard
to do because how many bass around thing?
And I caught one. It was the first bass I'd ever
caught where I'd thrown out there and reeled it in and got
the bite and got it back to the bank and I hooked a bass,
thought I was hung up, ended up reeling A3 pounder about that

(01:23:15):
far from my rod tip up to the bank.
And that was the first ever bassI caught cast to catch for me.
And that I won't ever forget that.
I mean, it just only bass we caught that day, Brand new stuff
my granddad got me for Christmas.
I mean that that was pretty special to me.
And there's another time when meand my granddad were out on a

(01:23:40):
local lake near here and we had been catching a lot of fish that
day and he had made a long cast and some fish schooling.
And there was a fork in a tree and his walking bait went right
between the fork and wrapped around a limb and it hit the
limb and unwrapped and hit the water and he caught 12 pounder

(01:24:02):
when it hit the water. Come on.
And I grabbed that fish and I went nuts.
I thought he didn't caught the state record.
I've never seen anything close to that size of my life.
Yeah, those are two, two fishingmemories that just pop in my
head every time. They're two pretty special ones,
very different, but both incredible.

(01:24:26):
So let's add a third one. OK.
On the classic you want to hear oh, you got a third oh wow, you
got another one. Keep them coming.
I mean if you got. More I was going to, I was going
to think on that one. OK, all right.
Oh, let's, I mean, let's just goin a classic.
Simple boom. And then, I mean, you're set

(01:24:46):
yourself up to win a classic. You're leading angler of the
year. I mean, you got two close
misses, as you said. I mean, how much more motivation
does a man need? None.
None. None.
I mean, up I, I told you earlier, I don't know how my
tournaments went so well, but like, when things are flowing

(01:25:11):
good, you're making the right moves, you get these little
intuitions throughout the day. Doesn't happen often as a bass
angler. I mean, most of the time it
slumps with a few bright hot spots along the way.
But the past few tournaments thethings just been rolling and

(01:25:33):
hope that continues. I mean the classic is kind of
hitting at a good time, you know, to have some good
motivation rolling so may come dead last, but I feel good going
into it just because of how the years has gone so far.
Yeah, well, don't, don't get, don't stop thinking of a dead
last. Just visualize it's going to

(01:25:55):
happen. Make it happen.
I mean, there's only 54 other guys that can stand in your way
and you're leading Angler of theyear.
And I appreciate you doing this,dude.
Oh absolutely, yeah. Appreciate you having me on.
And hopefully or yeah, maybe, hopefully no more or maybe more

(01:26:17):
UFOs to come between now and thenext time we talk.
Maybe. Dude, they, I mean, the UFO
could have been, I mean, they know who's going to win the
classic. They got that all figured out
already. So maybe that's why they were
circling. I mean, maybe that was a sign.
Maybe that was a? Sign How many more signs do you
need? You heard it here. 1st 2025

(01:26:40):
Bassmaster Classic Champion JohnGarrett.
I like the sounds of that. Sounds good.
How about this? If I win, I don't know if you
got room for it up there. What?
I'll try to. I'll try to make you a bobble
head to stick up there on that thing.
I don't know if I'm worthy of that or not, but if I win the
Classic, yeah. Even if you don't win it, you

(01:27:03):
send me a bobble head of yourself, I'll put it up there.
But if you do win it, it'd be somuch cooler.
And then OK, and then let's makea pre first podcast appearance
after you win. It's got to be here, right?
Sounds good? Absolutely.
And you, We already proved you can't lie about nothing but
lures. So just go make it happen.

(01:27:25):
Thank you. Thank you.
We'll see you in a few days. See you bud.
Thank you John Garrett and good luck in the bass master class
like I hope you guys all have a wonderful classic week.
It is going to be a fun one. Hey find me at the bass master
classical. Remember check out officially
unofficial. I'll put the link down below.

(01:27:45):
We talk all about the no information rule.
There is a lot of craziness flying around like people are
saying, well if a guy just says something as you're walking down
the street, you can get DQ Ed. No, it takes more than that.
Don't take my opinion for it. Listen to four amazing anglers
as they break down the no information rule, how it helps
them, how it hurts them, the good, the bad, the ugly of it

(01:28:07):
all, rather than just reading somebody's misinformed comment
on the Internet. Have a great week, enjoy being.
I'll see you at the Bassmaster Classic, holler at me and I'll
try say hello. Would love to meet you all
there. And as always, Bob Cobb, take it
away. Thanks for watching.

(01:28:30):
Please like, comment and subscribe because Bob Cobb of
the Bass Masters told you to youhere.